Interior Designers from In2Space

I just wanted to give you a "heads up" that we will have a couple of visitors on Monday. They are Cathy and Jennifer from In2Space, an Interior Design business in London. Rudi and I have had several meetings with them to discuss how they might be of assistance in our revitalization. We are in the process of hiring them to assist with designing the functional areas with special requirements. This will include the relocated spaces as well as the new spaces which means that they will be working closely with our architects. Appointments have been made with those who inhabit the spaces every 15 minutes beginning at 10:00 a.m. Cathy and Jennifer will be meeting everyone in their space and asking them questions about their requirements and desires. They will also be assessing the furniture as they go. Some pieces will stay and others will not be returning once we have been revitalized. Ergonomics will figure prominently in their decisions. The furniture will all be seen as a collective and will be reassembled according to what is learned on Monday. As always, if you have any questions, you know where to find me. I'm always happy to chat with you.

Re:News

We've been learning from the reading that we've been doing as well as discussions with others who have been through a renovation project that communication is essential. Peter, Ruth, Rudi and I are members of the Communications Committee whose job it is to ensure that the public and staff are constantly updated on our progress. This will be accomplished through blog posts, press releases and newspaper advertising. We will also be publishing a newsletter called "Re:News". The first edition is scheduled to be circulated with the "Elgin County Market" most likely this Saturday, November 27th. We will be publishing two more editions, one in early spring 2011 to talk about construction and a final "We're finished!" edition.

The goal of "Re:News" is to let the community know that we are revitalizing, why we are doing so and what the community can expect. The first edition will introduce me as "Revitalization Coordinator" so people have a name to contact with questions and concerns and a face to put to that name. There will be a project timeline, blurbs about the project itself, news about the Palmer donation, some of Katelyn's research findings and statistics and a message from the Board chairman.

To Move or Not to Move

Welcome to Friday and your weekly update on the revitalization process (yes, I just don't have enough to tell you to write daily!!). I know that many of you are being asked by customers whether or not the library will be relocating during the construction. Rudi and I are busy investigating possible locations and are also working with John Knox to see whether or not a phased move is possible or desirable. If asked at the library or in the grocery store or at a party etc., just tell folks that we’re still investigating options, but should have a more definite idea in mid-November.


Enjoy the weekend....

Where are we in the process?

It is past time for you to be updated on the progress of the revitalization process. The functional area reports were completed and handed over to Chamberlain and the initial drawings are "in the works".

We are not sure whether or not the Library will need to relocate for the duration of the construction or whether we will move in phases. Rudi and I are busy investigating possible locations throughout the city and meeting with representatives to discuss our needs. Stay tuned.

That's all for today....enjoy the weekend.

A Tour of Chamberlain Designed Libraries

I spent a very interesting day last Wednesday touring libraries that had been designed or renovated by the architect that we have chosen for our project....Chamberlain Architect Services. I visited the Westdale Branch of Hamilton Public Library, the Moses F. Rittenhouse Branch of Lincoln Public Library and Niagara-on-the-Lake Library. I was fortunate to have a tour guide at each who took me behind the scenes, answered my questions and talked to me about the parts of their library that functioned well and those that didn't. I took my camera along to capture aspects of the building that were interesting. Above are some of those photographs. The top photo shows the inside dome of Niagara-on-the-Lake Library. It is obvious that this architect favours curves as they appear in all three libraries. Note the art around the pillar, the sliding wall between a meeting room and the children's area creating a multipurpose space. The grape leaves leading into the Rittenhouse Branch highlight its roots in wine country. This is just a sampling. All of the photos are in the T drive, Children's Folder, Revitalization Data and Chamberlain Libraries. I had a bit of trouble with light exposure so I apologize for their quality.

User Survey Results

I don't know if any of you have had a chance to take a look at the "User Survey Results and Analysis" that Katelyn completed after conducting a survey in the month of August. The reason for the survey was, in her words, "to better understand the reasons that customers have for visiting St. Thomas Public Library, what services they engage in while at the library and lastly what role the library plays in customers' lives. I've been working my way through the lengthy but very interesting document and encourage you to do the same if you wish. It can be found in the T:\ drive, Common File "Library Revitalization - Survey Results".

Katelyn notes that one of the most striking findings in this report is that customers who indicated that their primary reason for a visit was because they were "interested in browsing, no plan before visit" also expressed the highest correlation with "Do or get what you need at the library then leave" as the best description of their library visits. This emphasizes the greater need for central and highly visual displays of high interest and popular materials so that people who are just browsing are able to identify something that "catches their eye".

The most common user categories derived from the reasons for visiting the library include: explorers who like to browse, leisure seekers who are at the library as a recreational activity, and lastly technology seekers who are using the computer or WIFI connection.

A Summer of Research

It's time to get the blog back on track after a...ummm... very long holiday. Rudi and I have both spoken to John Knox, the Architect who will be our Team Leader and have an initial meeting with him on Thursday afternoon.

As you know, Katelyn left us to go back to school on Friday but she left a wealth of information gathered during the three months she worked with us. She has organized it for us and we will be making use of it in a variety of ways as the project proceeds.

That's all for now but I'll be posting again SOON....promise!

Next Steps

I've come to the conclusion that posting on the blog is like exercising for me....best done in the morning or it's not done at all. Sorry that it's been so long since I last updated you on revitalization progress. There is still lots going on and we have had to scramble a bit to get everything updated after the big news of last Monday....not that we mind! Rudi, Terry Metcalf (as Board representative), Mike Hoogstra and I met yesterday to finalize the RFP that will be sent to the short-listed architects on Wednesday. Peter, Ruth, Rudi and I will be having a second meeting this week to formulate a communications plan to keep the public informed of our progress and to encourage further donations.

It is no secret that our library photographs (both of St. Thomas Public Library and others) are here, there and everywhere on the T:\ drive so Katelyn will be working to gather them all together and to organize them so that they will be useful to us. We'll have "before" and "after" shots on record.

Well, that's all for today. Don't forget to keep stuffing those suggestion boxes with ideas!

Camera Happy

I'm reading a great book called "Countdown to a New Library" by Jeannette Woodward. In it, she encourages libraries who are embarking upon a renovation project to "make a scrapbook" of photographs. This includes the details of buildings other than libraries. As Woodward says, "it is sometimes even more helpful to look at other buildings because you won't be distracted by library functions, and you will be more likely to focus on architectural details and building materials". Katelyn and I would like to put together a scrapbook and really would love your help. As you are traveling around this summer, whether it be on vacation or running errands, please feel free to take photographs of flooring materials, stairways, doors, windows, signage, counters and all the other details that go into a modern building. We will try also to corral all of the photographs we can find of our visits to other libraries as well. If you happen to have some of these on your camera, we'd love to have you send them to us. We'll set up a folder just for this purpose.

A big thank you to Sydnie who sent me this link:

http://n.pr/9wWtfG

As she says, it's humorous and hopeful at the same time!

Relationships

Welcome to a new week. I wrote to you last week about our progress with the abbreviated functional area reports. Katelyn is now working on how the areas relate to one another, floor by floor. She is creating bubble diagrams indicating strong relationships (such as the elevator and Technical Services), tenuous relationships, minor adjacencies. She's noting areas that should have unobstructed sight lines to one another (like the Youth Library reference desk and the Teen Zone), ones that should be self contained (like the CEO's office), others that should be somewhat separate from public space but not self contained and areas that are adjoining (such as the study section within the Teen Zone). It's a rather confusing process but an important one to establish especially for the architect.

On a completely separate topic, some of you, especially at the Circulation Desk, noted that you were unable to directly access the blog link from the emails that I send. I'm going to try sending you a tiny url instead to see if that works. Please let me know one way or the other.

Hiring our Architect.....Next Steps

I know that you are likely wondering how we are progressing with the hiring of our architect so I will explain. Earlier in the year we (Mike Hoogstra, Paul Giza, Rudi and I) met to shortlist 5 architects. Rudi, Katelyn and I have been working feverishly this week preparing a "Library Building Plan" that will be included with the "Request for Proposal" that will be given to each of the shortlisted 5 after it is approved by the Library Board at a meeting next Thursday afternoon. Once they receive this RFP, the architects will be expected to come up with a draft design and a price for the work. We will then meet again and review the designs and the prices and choose one of the architects. A special Board meeting will be held in August to approve our decision.

I just want to reiterate that you are welcome to ask me questions anytime. Email me, phone me, catch me as I'm walking by....I want you to feel as informed about what is happening re revitalization as possible. Until next week....

Staff Focus Groups and Functional Area Reports

Katelyn and I want to thank all staff who have participated in focus groups so far. We have gathered a great deal of information from you and appreciate hearing about your hopes, fears and dreams for the revitalization project. Adult services staff met on Monday afternoon. Administration staff gathered this morning. Circulation staff will have their session tomorrow afternoon and Children's and Teens' services next Friday afternoon.

Many of you may have noticed Rudi, Katelyn and I feverishly working on functional area reports the past few days. Our priority this week has been on determining the areas that we'd like to see in the revitalized library and writing a very brief synopsis on each that includes whether or not the space exists, how it will change if it does, the activities that are performed in the space, special requirements and occupancy at any one time. As you likely know, volunteer library school students and staff completed functional area reports for our present spaces last year.

Neglected Blog

My apologies for not posting yesterday. I remembered that I'd forgotten to do so about midnight but alas did not fling myself out of bed inspired to write.

I thought I'd begin this week with a report on the garage/bake sale. Approximately 6 teens and Alicia greeted potential buyers during the 4 hour sale which raised $448.30 for goods and $101.50 for books. A big thank you to Chris for all of his efforts in carrying off the leftovers and delivering them to "Keepers" and to each and every one of you who hauled in your wares and donated them to our cause.

I know that the smell of baking was cruel punishment especially to those in Administration but we found the baking part of the event to be very beneficial for a number of reasons. Some teens had never baked before and were unable to read a recipe. This gave them an opportunity to learn in a non-threatening environment. All of the teens felt a sense of ownership in the sale and were afforded the opportunity to actually work in the basement where their new lounge will be located.

Library Visitors

Katelyn just sent Rudi and I a list of current demographics and highlights compiled from her research to date and I thought I'd share one of the interesting tidbits with you dealing with ages of people who visit the library most frequently. This is her finding:

· Surprisingly, our research shows that the second largest population who visit the library currently is people aged 19 to 29. While not surprising, our research also demonstrates that people aged 70 and older consist of the largest population who visit the library currently.

I'll share more of her findings next week. I'm off tomorrow so blog posts will resume on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend and thank you again for your generous donations to our garage sale.

Teen Focus Group

Thank you all for enduring the smell of baking the last two days and for all of your donations for our garage sale on Saturday. Katelyn joined the Teen Advisory Board members at their last meeting to conduct a focus group session. She asked the group questions to determine their vision for a revitalized teen lounge. Needless to say, they did not hesitate in giving their opinions.

This is how they envision the overall look and feel of their revitalized lounge:

· Bright, warm colours

· Relaxing and comfortable atmosphere – created by a fireplace, food to eat, temperature control, ability to play music at the computers, spaces to be alone, curl up and read/work.

· Artwork and visual appeal – the youth liked the possibility of having their own artwork displayed.

· Do not like the idea of having bland colours, shapes and layout. They would prefer to see what one youth referred to as “personality” in the teen space. This personality would involve having odd shapes (i.e. the wave-like shape of picture number 6), a variety of colours and textures, different chairs and workspaces for different types of learners, and lastly more natural scenery (windows, and plants).

· A creative atmosphere – sparked by expression walls, artwork and flexible furnishings.

What struck me was the importance they placed on the visual appeal and creative look of the space....the lines, the colours, the textures.

Katelyn had also found photographs of teens spaces and showed them photographs of particular elements such as seating or group work space. They voted on which "look" they liked the best. You can read the whole report on the T:\ drive under "Children's", "Revitalization Data", "Library Revitalization Project", "Teen Advisory Board Focus Group"....or just ask me and I'll send it to you as an attachment.

Libraries are Life-Changing

I don't know if you've had a chance to actually read the answers to the questions posed at the "Philosopher's Cafe" a few weeks ago. I know that the audience was only three strong that evening (4 if you include Katelyn) but it is amazing to me that when the participants were asked if the library had ever been life changing to them, these were the replies:

Question: Have you ever had a life-changing experience in a public library? Was it due to the world of books?

“Thanks to the public library I have become a passionate musician and a lover of classical music. The only access that I had as a child to classical music was through the collection at the public library. I would recommend that we expand the music collection at the library.”

“I read a book that helped me learn different perspectives. This helped me to choose a direction in life.”

“Reading shows me that I am not alone and that others are having hard times. The Public library saved my life.”

“Reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis taught me to be fearless, to be strong and to have courage. It also showed me the thin line between good and evil”

Wow, imagine if the room had been filled to capacity?

I'm Back!

I've returned from vacation but unfortunately Katelyn is away today with a nasty cold. She's attributing it to working in our department....can you imagine? I'll reconnect with her when she is back on her feet as I know she's been busy working on the functional area reports.

In the meantime, check out this presentation:

http://www.slideshare.net/tlanders/trends-in-public-libraries-overview

Rudi found it and it made me feel as though we are definitely on the right track in our thinking about the revitalized library. There are also some terrific photos of libraries in the slides.

I hope that you are filling the boxes with ideas and suggestions that you have. It is important that you have a "say" in the planning process.

Until tomorrow.....

Brief Hiatus

I will be away on vacation next week so I won't surprisingly be posting on the blog. However, rest assured that Katelyn will be hard at work on revising the functional area reports that will be provided to the potential architects as part of our "Library Building Program". Before these functional reports are finalized, we may wish to speak with you to make sure that we are capturing the needs and necessities of each area. Stay tuned....more in the near future.

Highlights of Staff Survey

Staff Survey Highlights

Customers told staff:

· Highest Ranking challenges that staff heard from library customers were related to way finding – not being able to locate particular materials because of a lack of comprehensive signage and a layout that “flows” meaning, for example, that a customer can follow the fiction from one end to the other without interruption from other collections.

· Not surprisingly, computer time and access are two of the most heard challenges from library customers.

· Noise was also a popular challenge that staff heard from library customers – both a need for quiet and a need for spaces to talk without feeling like it is distracting other customers. This is similar to the challenges that are being brought up directly by library customers when asked survey questions at random.

This demonstrates customers’ needs for:

· More computers

· Flexible computer time limits

· Areas with distinct noise functions (quiet rooms/collaborative spaces)

· Signage that is user-friendly and collection layouts that 'flow'.

What staff appreciates and finds most useful about current workspace:

· Access to computers

· Environmental conditions (windows, lighting, climate control, colour)

· Storage and equipment (such as sorting carts) are nearby

Popular changes that staff would like to see in order to create a more effective workspace:

· Necessary equipment and supplies need to be accessible to all members at the desk as well as off-desk, and needs to be updated so that it is functional and efficient. (I.e. updates on computer programs, wands at each work station)

· 68% of staff would like to have an off-desk workspace to complete tasks, especially because 72% did not believe that they could complete tasks well in a noisy or congested workspace.

· Similarly, 78% of staff would like to see more space for collaboration and informal planning.

· More storage spaces as well as space for personal belongings and work assignments were needed by more than 90% of staff who completed the survey.

· An approachable desk: one that is accessible to children, seniors, as well as people with disabilities.

Sad News

As you may or may not have heard, Dorothy Palmer, passed away last Friday. I thought you might like to read her obituary as the donation to our Library is mentioned in it.

Palmer- After a determined and spirited enjoyment of the past few months at Metcalfe Gardens in St. Thomas, Dorothy Fay Palmer, a longtime Aylmer resident, died at the St.Thomas Elgin General Hospital on Friday June 18th, 2010.
Dorothy was born on May 7th,1925 in Malahide Township, the only child of Fred and Ethel Ingram. While her parents administerd the Elgin County House of Industry near the present site of Elgin Manor, she attended and graduated from St.Thomas Collegiate and proceeded to earn her teaching certificate. She taught at several schools in Elgin County including Myrtle Street in St. Thomas. Dorothy and her late husband , John William Franklin Palmer(December 25th, 2009) lived their entire fiftyeight years of married life in Aylmer.
An accomplished pianist and member of Church and Community Choirs, Dorothy loved music, enjoyed concerts and attending theatre performances in Aylmer and beyond. She was also a passionate gardener, growing a multitude of flowers and greenery both in her beautiful garden and inside her home. Friends would tease her that she was the original recycler because Dorothy never liked to throw anything away.John and Dorothy Palmer enjoyed nothing as much as a leisurely drive around Elgin County visiting their many friends, especially those from the Shrine Club, the Conservative Party and anyone connected with the Ford Motor Company. These friends were their family.
Over the past few months, Dorothy took quiet pleasure in thanking by generous donation, the three communities which have defined her life. One might say there was one each for the body, the mind and the soul. They were the Mocha Shriners Pediatric Orthopedic Clinic at the Children’s Hospital in London, the Youth department of the St. Thomas Public Library and the historic Bandshell and Park in Aylmer.Resting at Williams Funeral Home, 45 Elgin St., St. Thomas where funeral service to celebrate Dorothy’s life will be held Friday at 1:00 p.m. Interment to follow in Aylmer Cemetery. Visitation at the funeral home on Friday from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. In memory of Dorothy, donations may be made if wished to the Aylmer Area Community Foundation.

Idea Boxes

First of all, I apologize for the link that didn't work for the "You Tube" video. Thanks to Ruth for pointing us in the right direction. The link has been fixed if you haven't had a chance to see the clip.

Secondly, I have had one report of a staff member who was unable to access the blog. Please let me know if you had the same experience.

Finally, do you find yourself awake at 3:00 a.m. dreaming of ways to improve the library and its service to our customers? I hope not but I do know that many of you have very innovative suggestions. Katelyn and I want to encourage you to write down these ideas when inspiration does strike. Grab a pen and a scrap of paper, jot down your thoughts and drop them in one of three boxes that will be situated at both Information Desks and the Circulation Desk. You don't need to leave your name unless you'd like to discuss your idea further.

"What is a Public Library" You Tube Video

If you get a moment....okay 38 seconds.....do have a look at this YouTube video on libraries!

What is a Public Library?

To Begin....

Well, the blog isn't fancy but I hope that it will be a place where you can check in frequently to find out what is happening with the Library Revitalization Project. I also hope that you'll feel free to make comments or to email me with suggestions or concerns as the project proceeds. As Project Coordinator, I am responsible for ensuring that you and our customers are as informed as possible and addressing concerns that arise during the process. I'm happy to talk to you anytime.

As you know, Katelyn Andrew, our Renovation Project Research Assistant, has been busy conducting surveys in a number of ways and observing activity within the library. To date, she has interviewed Teacher Librarians at a number of schools, conducted a Teen Advisory Board Focus Group, spent time each day observing activity within the library and conducting random surveys with customers. She has also distributed a staff survey. Don't forget that completed surveys are due today, June 18th. I hope you'll fill it out as your opinions are very important to the revitalization process. I'm sure some of you are interested in the results of these efforts. They can be found on the T:\ drive, Common File under "Library Revitalizaton". Katelyn will keep adding to this file as her work progresses.